Thoughts on Radiohead's The King of Limbs

February 20, 2011

     Radiohead have been around for nearly two decades. Their trajectory, their narrative, is one of the most unpredictable phenomenons in modern music history. In fact, the only thing predictable about Radiohead is that they are unpredictable. Why, then, are there still people yearning for Jonny Greenwood to bust out crunchy riffs a la OK Computer? It's an interesting aspect of Radiohead's fan base: those that have been "grandfathered in" by being astute Bends and OK Computer-era fans, dragged against there will to the current state of what Radiohead is - and eventually loving it. If you're not getting the point, it's that there are/will be a whole lot of people initially unsatisfied with The King of Limbs.

     And I can totally see why. Radiohead is a band that has a Beatles vs. Stones kind of argument within their own discography. Generally speaking, you're either an OK Computer or a Kid A kind of fan. Sure, you love and respect both, but it's one of those two that really grab you. For all intents and purposes, this a Kid A fan's album. It is asymmetrical, void of really any traditional song structures. This is a collection of soundscapes. It's entirely conceivable that this is Radiohead's most alienating work, but let's not forget the initial reaction to Kid A, a now-considered triumph. I, for one, already see it that way.

     The King of Limbs is perhaps the most cohesive album for Radiohead to date. The sound palette remains largely the same, as does the general tone. There's a dreaminess to it, and in many ways, the only reason we're brought to consciousness is Thom's voice. I think it's quite a beautiful album, laced with Thom's current musical influences, the lot of which escape most of Radiohead's fan base. It's truly amazing that this band can keep on being as popular as they do after becoming a vastly different band than when they rose to rock kings in the late '90s.

     I don't know where this fits in the hierarchy of Radiohead albums, but then again, I think there no longer is one. It becomes increasingly difficult to compare any Radiohead album to another, much like one cannot compare, say, Sonic Youth to Four Tet. From OK Computer on, Radiohead has released brilliant after brilliant record. There's not much of a point in quantifying it.